Unwound Memories
by LifeAwakens
Summary: Just a small collection of Professor Layton drabbles, short fics, and some one-shots including the Professor and his old sweetheart, Claire.
1. Picking the Perfect Gift

**Title: **Picking the Perfect Gift

**Fandom:** Professor Layton

**Author:** LifeAwakens

**Pairing: **Hershel(Layton)/Claire

**Rating:** G

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the game franchise Professor Layton, or any of its characters. It all belongs to Akihiro Hino. I'm just...simply _borrowing _them for my pleasurable needs and feels.

**Summary: **Sometimes picking the perfect gift for your sweetheart can be a little...puzzling and problematic.

* * *

The only sound that could be heard by the young graduate of Gressenheller University was the light tapping of his own foot upon the dark tile flooring. With a hand over his chin and eyebrows slightly furrowed, the former student gave off a perplexed look as his eyes glanced across exquisite, yet expensive trinkets and gadgets.

His eyes ran quickly over the cash he had secured in his sweaty palms, and then returned his gaze unto the glass casket where the golden treasures shimmered and sparkled, taunting the young male.

"Umm… Excuse me, sir, but is there anything I can do for you? You've been standing there for quite a while." A soft male voice inquired, interrupting young Layton from his thoughts. He then focused his attention on the employee beside him, with eyebrows raised.

"Ah, yes, I believe I have been here for a while, haven't I? Forgive me, for I cannot come to a conclusion of a gift for my date, tonight." Hershel frowned, puzzled.

He was used to this sort of thinking when it came to solving puzzles, and he could easily have an answer after thinking a little outside the box. Though this time, it was different.

This time, he was solving one of the greatest puzzles of his life. And that was thinking of the perfect gift for his sweetheart, Claire. Pathetic might be the word to describe the situation, but when it came to certain men; they only wanted what's best for a woman. To ensure their happiness. And when it came to Hershel, he desperately wanted what was best for her, since his feelings for her were unconditionally profound. In his eyes, no other woman could compare to Claire, and he sought to give her the best that she deserved.

Despite the fact that they've only been together for not even a year, he felt deep in his heart that Claire was the only woman that understood him, and accepted him for who he was. That's why when they planned on having a special date between the two of them later in the evening; he wanted to buy something special for her. And that's what brought him to this small, yet marvelous jewelry store, filled with luxurious charms and other wearable metal decorations.

But what to get, was the question.

"It's not a problem, sir—my apologies. Take all the time you need." And the man walked off, leaving the pondering graduate alone once more. Not that he was really paying attention at this point, as he had already fixated his gaze once more at the jewelry. Though, there was something that the man said, that really stuck in his mind.

And after a moment of rendering the man's last comment, his black round eyes lit up with realization.

_Time…_

A smile crossed Layton's face. "I've got it." He spoke with confidence as his eyes set on a golden hand-sized pocket watch, set up in its fine glory on a plastic pedestal behind the glass.

* * *

_A/N: Just to let you guys know, this drabble takes place before they had dinner together. Which is shown in one of the cutscenes of course! Well, I'm kinda shaking things up a little. I decided to expand when it comes to writing for other fandoms. And ever since one of my closest friends introduced me to Professor Layton, I've been hooked. The road of playing these games has been a road of tears and uncontrollable feelings. _

_I decided to make some simple drabbles about my favorite couple from the series, and I at least hope that you all enjoy reading them as I do writing them. Some may be A/U's, but I haven't decided this just yet. _

_Well, thanks for reading! Until next time!_


	2. A Stormy Night

**Title: **A Stormy Night

**Fandom: **Professor Layton

**Author: **LifeAwakens

**Pairing: **Hershel(Layton)/Claire

**Rating: **G

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the game franchise Professor Layton, or any of its characters. It all belongs to Akihiro Hino. I'm just...simply _borrowing_ them for my pleasurable needs and feels.

**Summary: **During a severe storm, Layton decides to pick up his girlfriend in the middle of the night. But, he doesn't seem to notice he forgets something highly significant.

* * *

Just as the couple was getting more engaged into their conversation, a loud ringing noise interrupted them, bringing their bonding time to an end.

"I'll get it." A feminine voice spoke softly, rising from where she sat in front of her now frowning boyfriend. She quickly glanced at his face, which was full of disappointment, and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Hershel. We can continue our discussion in just a moment." Her smile was contagious, as he smiled in return, infected by her warm and comforting nature.

The floorboards creaked, in response to Claire's quick movements towards the phone across the room. With her smile still intact, she took the phone off its receiver, and drew it to her ear.

"Hello?"

As she listened to the other line, Hershel studied from afar, eyebrows raised slightly with inquisitiveness. Though, his expression changed to one with concern, as soon as a frown grew across Claire's face.

"Yes, I'll be willing, Dimitri." She spoke into the phone, leaning against the wall while she did so. "No, no, it's fine. I'm the only one that can do it, right? Don't apologize."

Claire focused her gaze on Hershel once more, and watched him raise an eyebrow with curiosity. She sighed. "I'll be there soon," she paused, drawing in a deep breath, "All right. Bye." She hung up the phone, and then briefly rubbed her temples.

"What's going on?" Hershel questioned while elevating himself out of his seat in alarm.

"Something's going wrong at the lab. I'm going over there to help." She immediately rushed over to the door to where her lab coat was hung up on its hanger, and didn't hesitate to slide her arms through its sleeves. On a normal day, she was completely willing to help the boys out with their tests and experiments, but when it came to Hershel, she really didn't want to leave him. They were spending quality time with each other, after all. "I'll try to be back soon."

"All right."

* * *

Hershel's head bobbed, waking the young man once more. He took yet another glance at the clock on the wall to his left. Its hands presented it was almost quarter 'til twelve in the morning. While letting out a tired yawn, his eyes fixated on the nearby window of his flat, wondering, worrying, about Claire. His eyebrows rose in alarm as he noticed the sky with its stars had disappeared. Looking more closely, he could see the steady movement of the dark clouds above.

This was when Hershel reminded himself that it was going to rain, based on the forecast announcement made earlier in the day. Not that he made note of that for future reference. Storms—more apprehension filled the man. Claire was still out working, wasn't she? Or could she perhaps be caught up in the storm, on her way back?

Suddenly, he heard the rain start beating harshly like repetitive drumming on his windowpane. It didn't take much time for a strip of lightning to light up the sky, following by a crack of thunder.

"Oh dear…"

He wondered if Claire would contact him when she was done. He wondered if she was all right over at the lab, blocks down the street. He wondered when the storm would pass, so he could ease his apprehension, consuming him from the inside.

"Hmm," He mumbled slowly, then paused. "I bet she's fine."

As if right on cue, the phone began to ring. He shot up from his seat like a rocket, and it didn't even take him a second to sprint over to pick up the phone.

"Claire?" He questioned, saying as if he knew who the caller was.

"Hershel?" Claire's raspy breaths could be heard over the receiver.

Hershel's hand tightened around the base of the telephone, desperate to know why Claire was literally gasping for air. "What's wrong?"

Another inhale could be heard. "Sorry—it's just the pouring rain caught me by surprise. But lucky for me, I managed to find a telephone box a couple blocks down."

"You weren't aware of the storm, were you?" You could almost hear his smirk from over the phone. It seemed he was trying to brighten the situation.

Claire couldn't help but smile. "I didn't realize how late it was when I left a little while ago. Guess you could say I was unprepared." Her soft giggles soothed him as the sounds made its way through the receiver.

"Well, rest assured. I'm going to come to you prepared." He responded with his smile still present.

"What?" the lab assistant questioned in a puzzled tone.

"Where are you?"

There was a pause. "I'm not too sure. The rain's coming down so hard that it's hard to tell where exactly I am."

He frowned at her response. "Hmm…didn't you say you were just a couple blocks away from the lab?"

"I believe so, yes." She affirmed with some certainty.

"Then I'll have no choice but to guess where you are. I'll try to get to you as soon as I can."

"Oh, Hershel, you don't have to do this for me! I'm sure the rain will clear up soon."

"Of course I do. It's not right to leave you out in the pouring rain on your own."

"Hmm," she started slowly, and then added, "Perhaps not."

"Stay where you are, I'll come to you soon."

* * *

As Layton rushed down the streets of London, he came to notice his ankles felt wet and unpleasant. Continuing his hasty stride, the chilly liquid spread into his shoes, and soaked up his socks.

His eyes picked up a faint figure in the distance, as his feet dragged him further down the flooding streets. It didn't take long for multiple droplets of water to run down his already sweaty features, also noting his bushy hair was dropping over his face. But that didn't stop him, as he kept on, blindly, down the stone path.

When his knee thumped harshly against a familiar red object, which he couldn't see clearly at the moment, he immediately jerked it back, instinctively securing the limb that was now throbbing in his arms. While softly hissing out of frustration and pain, he didn't tend to notice the slight creaking nearby, following by the sound of splattering footsteps.

"Are you all right, Hershel?" A concerned voice chimed in, alarming the young scholar.

"I'll be fine, don't worry—" his eyes picked up a tint of auburn. Soaked, and darkened, but still auburn. As his black orbs roamed up, they made contact with another set of black eyes. "Claire?"

Her smile seemed to brighten up the city, as he didn't even notice anymore that the rain kept beating on their heads.

"So you did come, after all. And unprepared, I see." She couldn't help but giggle at the perplexed look he gave her.

"What are you talking about?"

She placed her arms over her head, and gestured her finger towards the sky, grinning. She hoped he picked up on the hint.

It took him a second to render the reason behind her gesticulations. "…Oh." He said inaudibly, mentally slapping himself when he realized. The one and only thing that would prevent them from getting them even more soaked, if that was possible. _An umbrella._

"It's all right, Hershel. Don't put yourself down over this. I'm just glad you came all the way down here for me, despite the fact you've gotten drenched in the process." She said, as she wrapped her hands around his forearm, and dragged him inside of the telephone booth to shield them both from the rain.

As they spent the next few minutes in the small, secluded space that sheltered them, Hershel took the time to ring out puddles of water from his coat he brought along. Feeling a bit uncomfortable from the sudden silence, he spoke, "Were you able to fix the problem at the lab?"

"Yes, I was at least able to reduce the complications to a minimum."

"What do you mean?" He proposed in curiosity, raising a dark eyebrow.

"It was something you couldn't just reduce to nothing," she paused, grabbing her chin as she thought of a logical explanation. "I mean, something went wrong with one of their experiments, and it ended up in a complete failure. And now they're—we're—back to square one."

"What exactly are you experimenting?" Hershel asked.

She leaned on one of the walls of the booth.

"Well, it's more of trying to figure out how to excel in our theories."

"What theories?"

"It's Dimitri. He proposed the idea of making a legitimate time machine about a year ago. Now he and his partner have moved on to a testing stage. After building prototypes, of course." She sighed, while rubbing her temples in the process. "But enough about that—how about we just head back, out of this storm?"

Her smile reappeared, eager to get out of the raging storm brewing past. He couldn't help but return it. As she opened the door of the telephone box, Hershel held his tan coat over both of their heads, shielding them from the pellets of water falling from above.

"Get ready to make a run for it." He informed her, narrowing his eyes on the water-covered streets ahead of them. She only nodded in response.

After a few moments, he yelled, "Now!" The couple wasted no time sprinting down the road, towards Hershel's flat.

When they finally reached their destination, they paused at the doorstep to catch their breaths. And it didn't take long afterwards for the two to make eye contact, which lead them to burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

* * *

_A/N: Since I finally have a break from school(which is brutal this year, I have to admit), I finished writing this, and decided to update for you all. I didn't intend for this drabble to be so long (I guess you could say it's a short story, haha), but I enjoyed writing it, all in all. Feel free to leave a comment, favorite, and follow to keep up with my updates. Or you could just read whenever I update; that's cool. But either way, I hope you all enjoyed reading!_

_I also want to thank you all for the reviews on my last update! It's great to know that people enjoy reading this, and I'm also thrilled to see suggestions on what people would love me to write about next!_

_Until next time!_

_Syd_


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